There is a lot of fuss made in the guitar community about so-called ‘vintage’ guitars, ‘vintage’ being another word for ‘old’. There is a certain part of our world that longs to play a 30-, 40-, or even 50-year-old guitar or bass for a variety of reasons. To be honest, there is something to this argument when it is applied to instruments that truly are products of what many to be the ‘golden era’ of guitar production in the USA which, if we combine acoustic and electric guitars, would be roughly from the 1920’s to about 1970.Read more

Hey Gear-Vault readers! An interesting debate was brought before our attention earlier this week and we thought we’d pass it along to you guys. Let’s put your mad guitar knowledge to the test! Comment your answer at the end of this kick ass discussion!

Can you tell which is Gibson and which is the Epiphone?

Now let’s take a closer look at these two guitars:

[click to enlarge]

At first glance, these two guitars appear quite similar. In fact, many players might even have trouble distinguishing between the two. However, did you know that the left guitar often costs as much as NINE TIMES than the one on the right? That’s right. The axe on the left is perhaps one of the most recognizable guitars in the world: a Gibson Les Paul Standard. You can typically purchase one of these for around $2500-3500. Pictured just to the right of the Gibson is the Epiphone Les Paul Standard, which usually clocks in at just under Read more

In 1958, Gibson brought the ES-335 into the world in response to Jazz Players whose hollow-bodied git-boxes howled with feedback. Looking very much like a traditional thinline hollow body, the 335 had a center block of maple that cut feedback while it spawned a far-flung family of subtle, genetic variation, such as Gibson’s Vintage ES-345, ES-347, ES-350 and ES-355 models, Epiphone’s Sheraton, Casino and Riviera guitars and a slew of close relatives and out-and-out clones by virtually every guitar maker in existence. Read more

Don’t be stingy! “GET ACCESS” by Tweeting, Like us, or +1 us to share this giveaway with your friends. After you share and get access, you will see the “ENTER TO WIN” button. After you click “ENTER TO WIN” just enter your email

About The Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation:

“The Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation”, a non-profit founded by modern guitar Blues Phenom Joe Bonamassa, is giving away Joe Bonamassa’s signature series electric guitar in an effort to help Keep the Blues alive. Enter to win and share the message of great guitar music with your friends to do your part in keeping this music alive. EVERYONE IS A WINNER!

Second Chance to Win Guitar and Amplifier Giveaways!

Want a second chance to win this awesome Gibson ES 335 Guitar? Before you have entered to win the amplifier, just enter your email address below, and if I win it, I’ll pick a random email from my feedburner list and ship the amp out to the chosen one!

Gibson brings innovation to Robot Guitar tuning technology with the Les Paul Standard 2010 Limited Electric Guitar. Les Paul, Gibson, and the Les Paul guitar have always been about innovation. With a legacy as one of the most versatile electric guitars available, the robot Les Paul knocks versatility right off the charts, courtesy of Gibson USA.

With Robot Guitar automated tuning capabilities, 2 different but seminal magnetic pickups, a piezo-loaded bridge, and Chameleon Tone Technology courtesy of its Master Control Knob (MCK), the Les Paul Standard 2010 Limited packs a dizzying array of sonic capabilities, all primed to unlock your inner creative potential. From the raw, biting crunch of a hot, chrome-covered, hum-canceling P-90H in the neck position and the sizzling wail and punch of an overwound BurstBucker 3 in the bridge, to the subtle acoustic response of its piezo bridges saddles — and any conceivable blend of the three, accessed instantly from the MCK — the Les Paul Standard 2010 Limited really does pack all the tonal colors of the rainbow. And to keep it all sounding true, Gibson’s exclusive Robot Technology puts you perfectly into tune in seconds at the push of a button, or shifts you into any of a countless number of open and alternate tunings, all accessed at your command. Read more

Down through history, people have constantly been in search of the next big thing. From the car, to the washing machine, the compact disc to the iPod, many things are thrown at the wall, but only certain things stick.

This same principle remains a constant in the field of guitars; the tried and true functional pieces ring true for players of all sorts, and the flashy toys eventually end up in the garbage can with yesterday’s potato chips. And yet, some of these things that really should be utilized to the fullest extent end up being tossed away with everything else, for one reason or another, only to be brought back into popularity many years later on a retro throwback trend. Read more

I’m a little late to the party, but thought this was something worth posting. I thought it was a classy move by both Fender and Gibson guitars. Below are the press releases and images of the 9/11 tribute guitars. Read more

Every year or so, the big 2 guitar manufacturers [Gibson, Fender], release a guitar that is designated as their latest “Wow Guitar”. You know, the ones that are pure eye and ear candy, that tempt you with selling your car to have one of your own. Read more

Here’s how fresh the 2011 Epiphone ES-355 is at this point in time and space: I walked into two different music stores, one a giant corporate retailer and the other a small local shop (albeit one that specializes in Epis), and neither one of them even knew it existed much less had one in stock. Read more

Introduced in 1955 Gibson’s Byrdland was one of the first thinline hollowbody electrics. Designed with the help of hot-shot guitarists Billy Byrd and Hank Garland, whose surnames were combined to form the model’s name, the Byrdland was a Venetian (i.e. rounded) cutaway archtop with a carved spruce top and solid maple rims and back. Though the body was only 2-1/4 inches deep, rather than the standard 3-3/8 inches. Also unusual was the instrument’s short scale length 23-1/2 inches, a full two inches less than that of most archtops, allowing guitarists to play chords that required large stretches. Read more